Innocence Exploited
by ngosa95
Summary: Professor T.M. Riddle, Defense against the dark arts. Two days ago a package was delivered to my home using the muggle post it was wrapped as a Christmas present and contained a death eater mask. If it is possible for you to help me as I cannot perform the necessary protection spells for my family. Hermione Granger.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Harry Potter. I never will, am just playing around with the characters and a plot bunny...**

The Beginning…

There seems to be no way out for me. Everything I knew and believed is crushing down around me, after the deaths of most families that stood against HIM, I can't help but think that I need more help than the ministry can give me in order to protect my own family. This morning another one arrived, a death eater mask, it seems to mock all my efforts to protect my family from the bigots from "my" world. With the trace on my wand most of the protections that I should have been able to provide for my family are not possible. The Headmaster is only concerned with his political agenda and keeping the only surviving member of the Potter line under his thumb, my problem as a muggleborn do not concern him. It does not matter to them that I hold more promise than the majority of pureblooded children in my year. The only thing that matters is that I am not one of them. I have dirty blood, many snidely say I stole the magic of another in order to be magical myself. I have been presented by two options, allow my family to die or approach my Defense against the Dark Arts Professor for help.

I would have approached him before but I don't trust him, I have to acknowledge that he could possibly be the most gifted teacher that Hogwarts had seen since Professor Dumbledore. This however does not give me any confidence, there is something about him that unsettles me. There is a heaviness about him that has always made me wary of him. But with this recent delivery I have no other choice but to approach Professor Riddle for assistance. I seem to have become Voldemort's new target. Voldemort seems to target muggleborns who reach their sixth year of schooling and forces them to drop out so that it becomes impossible for them to get their NEWTS and become productive members of wizarding society; he targets these muggleborn because he wishes to show them that wizards have no regard for their plight. I am about to enter my seventh year as a Hogwarts student and am hoping to be awarded the Head girl budge; this is an unprecedented achievement for a muggleborn. I am the current highest student in my year and only one other has surpassed my records, his name is Thomas Marvolo Riddle, and he graduated sixteen years ago. After some conversations with him it is not hard to pick up on his intelligence.

Voldemort is currently the most powerful dark wizard and he gets more and more powerful as the years go by, he is referred to as He-who-must-not-be-named by most wizards and witches because they fear that actually uttering his name would cause calamity to fall on that witch or wizard. I came across the name in the library in a text that chronicled the rise and fall of past dark wizards. He is said to be the most powerful dark magic wizard of all time. He rose up after the German Dark Lord Grindelwald. He created a group of supporters called the Death Eaters. Most of the recent attacks by this group seem to have been focused on wizarding England, their hold over Britain was growing stronger and stronger. I have to get in touch with professor Riddle before it becomes too late…..

I need to find a way to protect my parents and baby brother and the only one who seems to pay any attention to what I say is Professor Riddle, the last time I approached the headmaster about the crimes being done to the muggleborns, he told me I should stay out of things that have nothing to do with me. This was after I had witnessed some sixth year students hexing a second year Muggleborn. Even my head of house did not seem to be concerned with what happened within the School walls as long as it wasn't one of her students.

...

_Professor T.M. Riddle_

_Defense against the dark arts_

_Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry_

_I am sorry to have to contact you during your Christmas break professor but I have no one else to turn to in this matter. I tried to approach my head of house and the headmaster but they refused to step in and both told me I was being paranoid._

_Two days ago a package was delivered to my home using the muggle post it was wrapped as a Christmas present and contained a death eater mask. This unfortunately is not the first time I have received one. I have received 2 other masks over the past 2 years. After the attack on Myrtle Rooney's family last year and her subsequent death, I fear for my own family. If it is possible for you to help me as I cannot perform the necessary protection spells for my family._

_I would really appreciate a speedy response from you as I do not wish to unduly worry my parents. If you are able to help me I will send you my address and also the location of the location to which you may apparte._

_Yours sincerely_

_Hermione Granger._

_..._

I should tell you my whole story

Year One

The first year of school was the most amazing of my entire life I remember wanting to know all I could about this world I never even suspected existed alongside the ordinary one that I knew. I felt that I could at least find a place in this amazing new world I was told I belonged to now. I didn't know then about the bigotry that is prevalent in this world. I was so eager but more obnoxious than I should have been for a migrant. I naively believed in the inert goodness of people towards one another. The wand store Ollivander's where I received my wand and the wizarding bank Gringots, all made me want to know more about the school Hogwarts. I was oriented by a man named Lupin, he seemed very friendly and told me a little about the school. He helped me with my school shopping and also the location of the train to Hogwarts. During the train ride I tried to make a few friends but many barely paid me any attention. I met a boy called Neville Longbottom a girl called Hanna Abbot and spent the train and boat rides with the two of them. After getting sorted into Gryffindor house and taking part in the welcome feast. We were led by a red headed boy to the dormitories, I was later to find out that he was a sixth year prefect called Percy Weasley.

The following day, we got our class schedules and it was mandatory to take seven core subjects options for additions were only available in third year. The core subjects are Potions, Charms, History of magic, Transfiguration, Defense against the dark arts (DADA), Astrology and Herbology.

In my potions class I was confronted with my first ever pureblood supremist, Draco Malfoy he called himself, I later found out that he was a descendant of an old family. He completely refused to sit at the same table as I and even went so far as going across the room. At that time I did not know that it was because of my blood status, I thought it had to do with the house rivalries as he was sorted into Slytherin and I was a Gryffindor.

Later that year I came to understand what the term Mud blood meant and understood why I was called that by the majority of the student body. I had to learn the hard way thanks to Malfoy and his friends, even some members of my house held the same views.

The greatest impression I got in my first year was from my DADA professor Mr. R.J Lupin. He was an engaging man who made his classes fun and interactive, he had a tendency to disappear for some stretches of time and near the end of my first year a ministerial enquiry revealed that he was actually a werewolf. I then became interested in the different sorts of magical creatures and the rights they were entitled to under wizarding law. Due to my age I was not allowed much freedom in what I could study. Lupin was fired and a new teacher was employed, we would not be able to meet him until the next year.

My love of the written word enabled me to learn more and more spells, this however was both a blessing and a curse; it accelerated my magical growth but stunted my social growth. During my extended trips to gain more knowledge from the library I failed to realize that I needed to form some friendships and connections with my peers in order to find a place in the future social pecking order. I spent the majority of my first year only associating with those who had some need for intellectual help, it all began with my first potions lesson and went downhill from there. I became the walking encyclopedia of magic and spells, apart from this no one wanted anything to do with me. Members of my age group were not very willing to stand up for those they did not consider friends. A boy named Ronald Weasley was the first to put me down because I drew attention to his lack of attention in class. The girls that I was rooming with where all Half Bloods and thus stood higher than I did. At Hogwarts the house that was noted for its dedication to knowledge was Raven claw and thus my ambition to become the top student in the school was met with a lot of hostility. In my year there was only one other Muggle born and he was a Hufflepuff called Justin Finch-Flechley.

Many of my professors where happy with my work and began using my dedication to my grades as an example to both my year and the year above me. This as you can imagine did not sit well with those in the higher year and soon I started being bullied by those older and stronger than me. I began spending much of my time hiding from these students. They began targeting me after meals and also before classes, in my efforts to to hide from them I discovered the location of the kitchens and took many of my meals within them. I also soon learnt the Disillusionment charm and a silencing charm in order to hide better. These measures worked for a time, but soon I discovered that my roommates began to tell my bullies when I got back to my bed at night. I needed to take more drastic measures. I began sleeping in unused classrooms and also needed to learn even more charms in order not to violate school rules or get caught out of bed by the caretaker, my biggest fear being expelled from the school before I could learn to control my powers.

I learnt simple cleaning charms, transfiguration and privacy warding to prevent more bulling from my seniors. I also learnt of many shortcuts within the castle to help me run away from my bullies.

In my year was a boy called Harry Potter, his parents where one of the more prominent Light families in the wizarding world while the Malfoys' where the Dark families. (Not much is said about why such a division existed but much of the division hinged on blood purity. Voldemort was said to be a purist who wanted to take over the ministry and reduce the privileges afforded to those of 'Lower Birth'). Harry Potter was a privileged youth and any who associated with him reaped the benefits of his luck. His best friend was Ronald Weasley and he was also friends with Seamus Finnegan.

The Hogwarts library was a place of peace for me as I could lose myself within the stacks of books. It was thanks to the library I discovered that there is no one alive who knew what Lord Voldemort actually looked like. There were many people who compared him and our headmaster Albus Dumbledore in terms of power but an actual description of the dark lord was not available.

My first day of classes was a Monday and made up of Herbology in the morning and then transfiguration, potions and DADA in the afternoon. I used the first day to try and show how much knowledge I had managed to gain before the start of term but I was outshined in Herbology by Longbottom, transfiguration at mid-morning was better but I was again discouraged by potions immediately after. DADA was better as professor Lupin was welcoming to student questions and participation.

Tuesday meant a whole morning of Herbology, potions in the afternoon and Astronomy at Midnight. Wednesday had History of Magic at midmorning and Herbology in the afternoon. Thursday was my favorite beginning with Charms, transfiguration, potions and DADA. There was only one drawback to Thursdays and that was the mandatory flying lessons. My first class saw me fall flat on face and that's how I found out the location of the Hospital wing. Friday had potions, charms and DADA.

By the end of my first year I had learnt the merit of staying silent in class. Being more quiet took a lot of the attention away and also afforded me a measure of peace. I however would not compromise on my grades and so not all the negative attention was taken away. The students in my year ignored me and I could only say I had a few friends namely Neville Longbottom and Anthony Goldstein. I was also on good terms with Megan Jones of Hufflepuff.

On the other hand the Slytherin made a sport of teasing me about my hair and teeth, the leader was Draco Malfoy. In the beginning I had enough self-confidence to give witty comebacks to his bullying but then after a while they stopped talking and started hexing. I was soon well known by the Matron Madam Pomfrey. She began to teach me a few healing spells but for most of the hexes I needed counter curses and potions. The most memorable hex was one that made my front teeth grow beyond their actual size and I used that as an opportunity to correct the size of my teeth.

Among the Gryffindor's only the Weasley in my year continued to give me grief and this was because I refused to give him access to my homework after he did not complete his work. I can clearly remember the conversation, it went something like this

I walked into the tower five minutes before curfew and I found him and potter lounging on the couches.

'Hey book girl!' he yelled at me. Even though I knew he was talking about me I decided not to respond as he called me "book girl". As I made my way towards the stairs leading to my dormitory he blocked my path.

'Hey am talking to you, I need your essay for transfiguration and potions that are due tomorrow' he said confidently.

'No I won't give them to you' I said 'you should have done the work by now'

' Why are you being so difficult? Everyone knows that you do more than the teachers require so just give me a few parts of your essays and we will call it square.'

When I continued to refuse he grabbed my bag but I had long learned to charm my bag to open only for me and he failed to get my essays from my bag. When he turned around to listen to what potter was saying to him I ran up the stairs and then summoned my bag. From that day I became a target for Weasley and thus I was forced to find alternate sleeping arrangements. I have to say that Weasley and Malfoy where the major contributors to my developing a low self-esteem in my school years.

Leave me a comment about your thoughts


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Chapter 2**

Second Year

_Innocence- Avril Lavigne_

_I think about the little things that make life great…_

_This is the best feeling…._

My second year began with my parents being highly enthusiastic about my schooling and giving me even more money so that I could purchase more books for my schooling and light reading. My parents knew and encouraged my love for the written word. I had hidden everything about what happened last year from them and they believed that I felt comfortable within the magical community. I told myself at the end of my first year that I wouldn't be weak and fail to finish my schooling. I would weather anything anyone would throw at me and come out on top.

When the letter from the school arrived, it contained the required texts for that year, the DADA list changed and I assumed that this was because we had a new professor. He would probably want us to have an even bigger knowledge base and thus more to learn. I went and bought my school supplies and was shocked as well as pleased to find out that our new professor was actually a famous wizard called Gilderoy Lockhart. Mr. Lockhart had written several books about his exploits in identifying and dealing with dark creatures and also one autobiography. In total I needed to buy all seven of his books. He was blond and blue eyed and was a former student of Hogwarts. He had received many accolades to honor his contribution to the dark arts field.

I was immediately taken by both his looks and the tales of his exploits. As I was leaving the bookshop I nearly ran into a group of red heads. Luckily I was not seen by any as Ronald Weasley and Potter where focused on Draco Malfoy who was in front of them. They seemed to be having a petty argument and as I slipped out I overheard Malfoy complaining about potter being invited to pose for a photo with Lockhart instead of himself. Potter on the other hand looked indifferent and a little annoyed with the whole situation. A man bumped into me near the door and I dropped my books, when I looked up I felt like I was looking at a grown up Malfoy, I think that must have been his father. He just sneered down to me and went into the shop. My mother was about to protest about this treatment but I dissuaded her.

When I got home I began to read all about Mr. Lockhart and his exploits. He had written several books that chronicled his experiences. The 8 books that were to be used during the year that ranged from trolls to vampires and also an autobiography. By the time September 1st rolled around I had read 5 out of the 8.

I Got onto the platform well before time and got onto the train early. I looked for my friends and sat in the same compartment, we however did not talk together much. I spent the train ride reading Wondering with Werewolves, and began comparing his experience with what I had gathered from observing Professor Lupin last year and my personal research and much of it did not add up. I believed that Most of his descriptions about the ware wolves were very unflattering and more racial than they should have been.

When we got to the school I noticed that the golden duo (Potter and his Weasley) where not among those seated in the great Hall, and didn't appear even when dinner ended. Later that night gossip among the Gryffindor girls told a story about the two boys coming to school by using an enchanted car and where unfortunately seen by the Muggle press. Potter and Weasley where however only punished by being given detentions to be served with Lockhart and Filch respectively.

The first day of classes with our new defense professor did not go so well for me. You see after introducing himself to the class, Lockhart went on to release a cage of freshly caught Cornish Pixies. These where not supposed to give anyone much trouble. The pixies then swarmed the class and managed to disrupt the whole class. They also pulled Longbottom up by his ears and hanged him off the chandelier by his robes. Lockhart in the meantime had fled to his office. I was left with Weasley and Potter, who were no help at all. But by using a spell I learned over the last year I managed to freeze all the pixies and Potter helped me put them back into their cage while Weasley just watched. That defense class marked the beginning of my tentative friendship with Harry Potter.

During The Friday that followed, Lockhart gave us a quiz and it was one of the strangest quizzes that I have ever written in my life. It was solely based on his autobiography but I of course got an outstanding grade.

In other news…. (Notice my lack of enthusiasm)

Malfoy got selected as the Slytherin seeker that year and even now there is speculation that he bought his way onto the team. It has to be said however that he is a good seeker, second only to Potter and we are only in our second year. During the first few weeks there was an altercation where Malfoy actually called me a mud blood. Potter and Weasley were also there, unfortunately Weasley just laughed, and the other Gryffindor second years did not say a word about it. The fact that Weasley laughed made me notice that he also held a bit of a prejudice towards me even though his family are supposed to be more tolerant.

Anyway I digress, after the disastrous first class in defense Lockhart did not bring any more creatures into the classroom. He began focusing the lessons on what we could glen from his books and this focus on theory made me begin my in depth investigation about the truth to Lockhart's exploits. I began to compare the man I was being taught by at school and the man I was reading about in the books. The two were completely different from each other and had nothing in common except their name. I have to admit to being less than diligent in my investigations as I was still interested in the man.

Lockhart did start up a dueling club that was meant to teach us about dueling in the real wizarding world. Many wizards settle their differences using duels so I believed it was a worthwhile endeavor. He put up a sign up sheet for the same dueling club and also announced it in class. On the signup sheet the majority of the members where girls, but I understand why they joined because I also had the same reason for joining the club.

The first dueling club session went a little something like this…

He asked our potions professor to be his assistant and it was obvious that he did not appreciate this type of degradation. Snape and Lockhart got into the dueling positions but even though Lockhart was given ample opportunity to raise a shield he failed to do so, and Snape sent him flying to the edge of the dueling platform without much effort. Snape then went on to suggest to Lockhart that we be taught how to shield before anything else.

Potter and Malfoy where then asked to face off against each other and they each managed to embarrass the other, but I know I could have done better than both of them. Finally Malfoy conjured a snake meant to attack Potter, Potter shocked us all when he spoke to the serpent and calmed it down. Snape broke up the duel after that and then asked us to form pairs to practice the spells that we would be learning. I was paired with boy called Wayne Hopkins. The pairs that were invited to duel on the platform where restricted to the upper years. All the duels that were conducted where being observed and criticized by Snape in place of Lockhart because Professor Lockhart mysteriously disappeared after his failed duel.

The following week we began serious training in dueling, we were separated by years and grouped accordingly. The First years and second years were paired together, third and fourth, fifth and sixth and finally seventh years alone. This was done in order to prevent highly skilled or more knowledgeable individuals from hurting beginners, professor Snape taught us the stances, the best disarming spells, shielding and how to use innovation and to be a little unpredictable when dueling. I concentrated on improving my shielding and found a few spells about creating different types of shields such as a rock or metallic shield. My research on shielding lead me to researching the nature of some spells that we used in dueling this became an advantage for me. I was not as well versed in magic and so I was at a disadvantage when compared to the children who grew up in magical households. My research helped me improve my performance in the club and also helped me scare away most of my bullies. Note most and not all, I still needed to work on my social relationships and my dedication to school work did not help matters.

As I told you before I began a tentative friendship with Potter, this seemed to increase the attention I was receiving from Malfoy for some reason. Malfoy was seemingly very interested in the company that the Potter heir was keeping and when he could he would antagonize anyone that associated with Potter. My friendship with Potter however did not include Weasley however, this was not for lack of trying on his part but my own reservations about him ensured that there was nothing more than polite courtesy between us.

The other interesting part of my second year was the spectacle that Lockhart made of Valentine's Day. He redecorated the entire great hall to resemble some romantics dream, and also hired Dwarfs to hand deliver any valentines gifts that where sent out. He of course received the most valentines' gifts out of the whole hall and I believe now that that was the whole point of the spectacle.

Lockhart was a professor that was very disliked by most if not the whole of the Hogwarts male populace. I thought at first that it was due to jealousy but soon came to realize that they did not appreciate his attention seeking personality. The most outspoken group on the "we don't like Lockhart" club where the twin Weasley brothers. They are the biggest pranksters at the school and whenever they got caught they seemed to have the bad luck of being punished by Lockhart. Potter said that the punishment was about answering Lockhart's many fan letters; they came in by the sack. So in the end the twins were forced to spend more time with the man.

The best part of the year was when the twins set up a wardrobe in the great hall and asked Lockhart to dispose of the creature in front of the entire school. The wardrobe was shaking and shuddering from time to time and so we all wondered what terrific dark creature was inside it.

When challenged so brutally in front of the dozens of adoring fans he had, Lockhart was forced to approach the wardrobe. He immediately tried to pass it off as nothing major, but Dumbledore also put his own word in and asked Lockhart to approach the wardrobe.

What happened next went down the annals of Hogwarts history, the creature in the wardrobe was later revealed to be a _**Boggart**_, and it embodies a person's deepest fear. What came out of the wardrobe was a swarm of Cornish Pixies however and the upper years explained that those where Lockhart's deepest fears. After the swarm a human sized pixie landed in front of Lockhart and demanded he reveal his lies. The terrified professor went on to confess that he had been stealing the work of other wizards and passing it off as his own.

That year marked the end of the celebrated Gilderoy Lockhart.

After a reporter from the Daily Prophet came by to report the story, the headmaster lamented on where he would find another teacher for the next year of DADA.

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So so sorry for taking so long. Takes a bit of time to research and proofread. It's so hard to write about interesting things without the influence of LV. Next chapter in 2 weeks or so.

Hope you like it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Chapter 3**

Chapter 3

Lucius Malfoy stood in the headmaster's office and stared at the Headmaster. He had waited for the deputy headmistress to walk out. He had found Dumbledore and McGonagall talking about who would take the vacant professors position. Dumbledore appeared tense at his appearance.

"Good afternoon headmaster" Lucius began neutrally. " I received many letters from Draco over the past year that has highlighted how difficult it has been for you to fill the defense against the dark arts position since my graduation. The school governors and I feel that we can lend a hand to your search if we are the ones to approve of whom you employ. For the past thirteen years you have not found anyone to do the job competently."

"Is that so Lucius? And who would you recommend?" Dumbledore asked.

"I am not making any recommendation, I am simply informing you of our decision. I know you are used to having the decision making power over school matters but this has got to stop." Lucius went on to say "We are releasing an advertisement in the daily prophet for the next week inviting any who are interested in the position to apply."

"That seems fair" Dumbledore said. " Anyone is able to apply?"

"Of course, as long as they are well qualified for the position" Lucius said "we should however try to keep politically correct, we don't want another situation like the one that occurred in 1991."

Thomas Marvolo Riddle was unsatisfied where he was working, there were no challenges left in this field to test the bounds of his intelligence. The problem was that he did not wish to work for the British Ministry of Magic as it would constrain his actions. Even though it rankled to admit it, he was bored. Egypt held no other cursed tombs he hadn't been in, books he hadn't read or old magic sites he hadn't explored completely. What he wanted to do was teach and harvest young brilliant minds to his cause. But Dumbledore would not give him the chance to do so.

While in Cairo, he met a group of unmistakable Red heads and spent some time talking to Author Weasley. That night Riddle received an owl from Lucius along with a pre-order of the following day's edition of the prophet.

_My Lord,_

_I have finally managed to secure an opening that will enable you to enter Hogwarts without resistance. There was an abhorrent selection by the headmaster for the defense position, and as such the board is looking for a new staff member. I hope I have pleased you my lord._

_Sincerely_

_Your humble servant Lucius_

Riddle immediately burnt the note; it would not do to leave evidence. He then began making preparations to move back to England. This was his chance to get the position in the castle. There would be none more qualified than him for the position, and if any stood in his way they could conveniently disappear. Riddle knew that the headmaster would not be happy with him taking a teaching position but with this it was possible.

When he got to England he had already received the approval of the school board of governors to begin teaching at the resumption of the school year. The staff meeting during which he was to meet all the professors was made uncomfortable due to Dumbledore not speaking much. I shared a look with Snape; it seems the headmaster was overruled during the selection. Riddle was pleased with Lucius but was not uncouth enough to show it, he would have to think of a very good reward for the Malfoys….and Lucius in particular.

'I have also missed Severus' Riddle thought 'it will be good to check on him and see if his faith in Dumbledore has yielded any benefits. The man is too stubborn for his own good it's as if he never learnt from what happened to the others who put their trust in the headmaster….'

At the end of my second year, The Hogwarts board stepped in and decided that they would look for a defense teacher as the Headmaster seemed to have failed to fill the position adequately. The board Chairman Mr. Lucius Malfoy with the help of the Daily Prophet asked for suitably qualified and interested people to apply for the position. The headmaster created a short list of people he felt were qualified and the school board also made a list. Rumors say the headmaster received many applicants but the board refused to accept his recommendations and asked him to pick from group that they had chosen. The board chose the best qualified person out of all the applicants, as well as being politically correct (read- not a half breed).

The School board chose a man called Riddle, who apparently had applied for the position some five years before. Riddle had applied directly to Dumbledore and was not accepted. He was a former student of Hogwarts who shattered all existing records for student performance and never settled into a particular field of study. He was called a genius and had several honors attached to his name, so far he was said to have attained five masters. The masters he had obtained included Defense against the Dark arts, Charms, Potions, Arithmancy and Alchemy. He had recently begun Warding and Ancient Runes masters, well according to the prophet. He had just been in Egypt removing curses from an ancient tom, as a sort of dissertation for the two fields.

And thus I met Mr. Tom M. Riddle. The first time I was in his presence I felt awed by him, the research that I had done on him (I needed reassurance that we weren't getting another Lockhart) made me want him to be my role model. I however felt a bit uncomfortable around him, the best description I can give is a feeling of being surrounded by a heavy dark fog, and also a feeling of being overwhelmed by a feeling of inadequacy. My conclusion was that I was sensitive to his power, it rolled off him in waves. These feeling set me apart from my classmates and the majority of the female student body that immediately fell for his good looks and didn't look for much beyond that. In a completely objective manner I can admit that Mr. Riddle is an extremely good looking man, with a six foot three frame that isn't too muscular but leaner, deep green eyes, defined jaw line and check bones and wavy dark hair. These aspects of him were relayed to me by Lavender Brown who had almost immediately developed a crush on the man. The fact that he was not married increased his appeal.

He continued our education from where Lupin left us, because he believed that Lockhart was not even worth mentioning, he continued giving us a basis on the things we may need to defend against in the course of our lives. He included the need we would have for speed in our casting because of the times we were living in.

"There are many dark wizards that will not see you as children if it means getting to their goal" he stressed on his first day of class.

Therefore he focused on our wand work and speed with jinxes and hexes. Power of individuals mattered greatly to Professor Riddle and the more powerful students were paired together in order to provide some sort of challenge. I got paired with a Slytherin called Theodore Nott because Riddle saw the animosity between me and my closest match Malfoy. The exercises that he encouraged helped me improve all my casting and were not limited to DADA. My spell casting in whichever subject I applied that information to become much better and my casting speed increased.

Riddle encouraged his students to ask questions about any topic he could help with. I took full advantage of this and asked him about a variety of topics and courses. He even helped me with wizard culture. I learnt so much from him over the first two weeks, but after that he just asked me questions and I was supposed to find answers on my own, that…. Slytherin!

I however learnt from him that I should not always reveal my cards, he urged me to be more selective with how I used my knowledge. Riddle encouraged me to always assess the situation I was in, it if I am being bullied or dueling that I am to use the appropriate spell for the situation. He was impressed by my performance in the defense club; he congratulated me on my use of smaller but highly effective spells in my strategy. He joined the defense club but focused on refining the top students in each year. In my year, I was grouped with Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, Theodore Nott, Parvathi Patil, and Anthony Goldstein. It was a select group that made me step back and look at who may be competition for me. I learnt to work with a variety of people, Riddle did not stand for fighting among us weather is it in the club or in the classroom. After the first term, I had to work with a lot of the Slytherin students and I learnt that the impression that I had of them was off because of the prejudice that was rampant. Ron Weasley was the main proponent of the Slytherin propaganda, though he got upset when I asked him how he knew so much, maybe he had been a Slytherin in his past life. That conversation with him started off a teasing spree about me being sorted into the wrong house. Thankfully the end of that conversation changed the outlook of some people in the house. From then on though, Weasley and Finnegan became my biggest obstacles in having friends. Weasley however was a less than average student and he relied heavily on his friendship with the Potter heir to get him through many situations.

My third year was spent mostly in and out of my defense professor's class, it was not for the reasons that my roommates believed it was. I was only there for the knowledge that I would gain form him. Okay I had the biggest crush on him, but can you blame me? He was brilliant and he also he understood that I loved to learn. He let me raid his library and even though I was a bit skeptical about some of his literature, he told me that all knowledge was dependent on intent of the caster. He said there are curses that can kill but a badly cast tripping jinx can cause someone to break their neck. A powerful cutting jinx can take of someone's head off. Thanks to my previous years performances I also received a time turner, this device helped me attend more classes. As the year went on I noticed that I was being set up to become the face of the argument that Muggleborns could be as good as wizard children. But I wanted no part of this as it would put a target on my back. The fact that I resisted this turn of events resulted in a cooler relationship with my head of house. I believe that after I refused she decided to back of favoring me and wanted me to see what I would lose out on without her support, but this just made me even more disillusioned with the magical world. Thus a teacher like Riddle who was only concerned with what an individual brought to the table was more appealing.

There was more than spells that I gained from Professor Riddle, he was the reason I developed an interest I the workings of the wizarding world. You see there was a man who escaped from Azkaban that year. His name is Sirius Black. A group of fearsome guards from Azkaban called Dementors where sent by the ministry of magic to guard the school, as well as to look for black. I read about him in the paper and that's when I developed an interest in the wizard law system. The paper didn't have much information about him other than he was a convicted Death Eater and had killed 12 muggles and one wizard. He only got arrested and convicted for the death of the wizard. The Death Eaters were said to be a radicle group who believed that muggles where the ones who were supposed to be living in fear of wizards as they were not as powerful as wizards. Riddle told me that as a half blood Harry would not be able to get all the information about his parent's death and only a word to the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement may be able to help him. He told me about how anyone who wasn't a pure blood would probably not be given the time of day.

I found out over the course of that year that Black was actually Potter's legal guardian. By then I knew a little about Potters home life and I believed that he deserved better than the muggles who were looking after him, Those types of muggles where the ones who caused wizards to hate them. I asked Riddle about how the trials where conducted but he said that most of the trials centered on family power or evidence seen by others. He said that it was possible to ask for an appeal if no evidence was presented to the court. I spoke to harry about this and told him that the best thing he could do was approach the head of the Magical Law Enforcement and ask for more advice. I told him her name was Amelia Bones and approaching Susan Bones was his best way of getting a response. Harry as he had asked me to call him, was grateful because he wanted to know more about his parents and the man who gave their position away to the Death Eaters.

Black started showing up in Hogsmead, the wizarding community closest to Hogwarts and many people believed that he wanted to finish killing off the Potter line by killing Harry. After weeks passed and there was no attack on Harry, even he began to doubt that rumor. I believed that he wanted something else, this was because he managed to get into the castle but only attacked while all the students were at dinner. If he really was a murderer then he would have killed Harry even while we were at dinner, he would not have attacked an empty common room in a school surrounded by his former guards. Madam Bones did get back to Harry and through means unknown to me managed to question the process of Black's imprisonment. But she managed to clear up the fact that black did not receive a trial before he was imprisoned for 12 years for being a Death Eater. Madam Bones said that Black was supposed to surrender himself for a fresh trial, although he should wait till the trial date. The whole process that was the retrial of Sirius Black helped me develop an interest in Law and the process of enforcing it.

Black managed to evade the authorities until his trial date. Using a little bit of madam Bones influence as well as a few others (read- Dumbles, Shacklebolt,). After the trial I told Harry that Dumbledore was probably guilty for having left Black in prison for so long. After the trial and eventual release of Black lead to a better life for Harry and also made our friendship better. I didn't give Weasley a chance though because I don't think that he is a person I want to associate with. Hanging out with other people from different houses helped me see that he was just as bad as the bullies, on the other hand Nott was actually a nice-ish, well for a Slytherin.

But I have to say that the discrimination against Muggleborns was rampant but the worst that I had noticed was the one directed at me. There was another girl from Ravenclaw named Rooney who had been persecuted and she came to me and advised me to try and stay low and in the background. The worst part about it all was that even my head of house did not care to change the situation.

I refuse to play second fiddle to these spoiled pure blood idiots I will show them that I am better. The best thing about that year is that I made a friend, in typical Gryffindor style he is loyal to a fault but I like that fact, his name is Harry.

I was an orphan, due to neglect and corruption that is found in the ministry, I knew nothing of my magical heritage until I was 11 years old. I was always concerned about the way I was different, many times I was called a freak. But the day I found out, oh that day I was vindicated, I will never forget that day. Because that day I knew that I was special in ways the muggles around me would never begin to understand. But I think they knew even before then that I was not like them and put me down because of my ignorance of my own heritage. I was supposed to be placed with my uncle and grown up knowing everything that was now new to me….

I know now though, and I won't ever be what they thought I would be- worthless. Dumbledore's attention remains fixed on me. After meeting him I realized how much influence the man has and its disconcerting that he pays so much attention to me but like I said I am special. I will use everything I can to benefit me. I won't ever allow myself to be that helpless unloved child I was before. I will be better…. I will find out about my parents as well.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4.

The end of our second year consisted of an upheaval unlike any other that had occurred in Hogwarts history. The board of governors changed the powers afforded to the headmaster, initially the headmaster has dominion over all aspects of the school from the teachers to the curriculum. The board limited his powers to only cover administrative and day to day student activities.

The board had an advert put out in the daily prophet on the position of Defense Against the dark arts position. There were many responses to the ad, Hogwarts was one of the best places to gain employment outside the ministry.

The board of governors led by the Lady Longbottom passed the decree for the restriction of the headmasters powers and also led the selection committee on choosing the new teacher as well as the revising of the curriculum. The agreed that the newly introduced students (read- Muggle borns) need an introduction to the culture of the world they are joining. These classes would be mandatory to all the students registered as muggle born and they would be required to attend without fail.

These initial education reforms were only a prelude to the greater reforms to be implemented as the year went on.

All of this new reforms were released in the Daily Prophet and were to be implemented at the start of the New Year. I had taken out a subscription to the Prophet before the end of my second year. The only problem I had with the news in the Prophet was that they focused so much on their Royal Pure Blood Families. Every other story in the paper was involving these families.

The prophet took to publishing the total number of applicants to the job that came to a staggering 523 applicants. These though were for both the defense position and the culture studies position. There were many wizards and witches who applied for these positions.

The initial list of applicants was far too large to be published in the paper, but the initial criteria for elimination was published. This initial criteria was that the applicant was to be completely human… I personally felt that this was unfair on the multitude of experience actual individuals labeled as dark are able to bring to the field of study. But as I myself could testify, wizards are not known for their tolerance of the different.

_The Daily Prophet _

_The selection of the new Professors at Hogwarts School_

_BY Rita Skitter_

_The initial selection of the Hogwarts professors attracted a large amount of both speculation and even shock dear readers, the board of governors led by madam Longbottom decided that it's time to take responsibility for the education standards of Hogwarts _

_Dear readers I regretfully inform you that Hogwarts holds the lowest school rating on the international market, Hogwarts alumni have been asked to have even greater qualification than their NEWTs before beginning work on the international Market. _

_There are many speculations as to who is to blame for this state of affairs, some say the stigma attached to the subject matter, the Dark Lord Grinderwald was reputed to have caused this due to the atrocities he committed to those who he did not consider worth the gift of Magic. Others lay the blame on the powers of the headmaster to choose what subjects are the core to be taught at Hogwarts School. _

"_It's just a matter of education reform" Lord Lucius Malfoy "I personally feel that my son's education has been sorely lacking. He is being taught how to defend against what he does not know how to recognize…" this is a sentiment that many parents can attest to. Lord Malfoy further went on to commend the step taken by Lady Longbottom. "While our families do not always see eye to eye our heirs are the most important in this whole issue."_

_Lord Malfoy makes a valid point in what he says, before Dumbledore's school reforms many students had freedom to choose which direction they wanted to go, the school was to provide guidance in the form of educators skilled in those arts. _

_Maybe the discrimination against the other forms of education came after the Headmasters defeat of the Dark Lord. _

_The initial list of applicants numbered over five hundred individuals (specifically 523 applicants) for the two positions. After strict checks by the ministry there was a total of 154 that were dropped due to unsuitability for this position. _

_There are unconfirmed reports that several applicants were Vampires and Werewolves, I believe this was after the debacle of the 1991 employment of the Werewolf Remus Lupin. _

_This is as far as the selection process has gone, we have a total of 369 applicants for both of the vacancies at Hogwarts. _

_I will be bringing you the information as I hear it. _

_Rita Skitter. _

_The Daily Prophet _

_The selection of the new Professors at Hogwarts School: Part II_

_BY Rita Skitter_

_The list of applicants for the vacant positions has further been separated from the initial group of 369 to those who are in the running for Defense post and those for the Culture Post. The defense position attracted a total of 291 applicants while the Culture post 78 applicants. _

_The defense post being the most converted position has been scheduled to be filled later this month and therefore they are filling the culture post first. There has been an outcry for the board of Governors to release the names of the applicants and the reasons why any have been removed from the running. So the prophet is going to acquire the list of applicants and give an in-depth report on each. _

_The 78 applicants include several women who feel that they are suitably qualified to teach future Wizards. Most of the applicants however seem to be of the male gender. _

_The list of candidates includes the male half of the Carrow siblings and rumors are circulating that two of the black sisters have applied for the position. _

_As for the qualification I believe that it should be obvious that it should be someone who has lived in the Magic world for the majority of their lives. They also need to show an appreciation for the deeper aspects of the magical world such as the rituals and celebrations that muggles have taken for granted. _

_Always yours Rita. _

_The Daily Prophet _

_The selection of the new Professors at Hogwarts School:_

_The Results_

_BY Rita Skitter_

_The final selection has been made and the results released for public notice. The Hogwarts Board of directors has made one of the most controversial decision and awarded the highly contested position to the oldest Black siblings; Andromeda Black-Tonks. _

_Mrs. Tonks as she was among the reported 78 contestants and she was selected because of the particular skill set she would bring to the table, she is from one of the oldest pureblooded lines in the Wizard world and she also went against her family and married a mugglborn Wizard. _

_This the board feels will give her a particular understanding of the challenges that the Muggleborn may have when learning about our Culture. _

_There was a public outcry about this selection and any who are unsatisfied can petition the Hogwarts board for reconsideration but the board believes that this will only be done at the end of the academic school year. _

_Your thoughts Dear readers?_

_Yours Rita_

_The Daily Prophet _

_The selection of the new Professors at Hogwarts School:_

_The Second Round_

_BY Rita Skitter_

_Don't forget dear readers that we have only had one position filled, there is still another position to be filled and this one has over 291 applicants. This means that the selection process swill be larger as well as the pool of contestants. After repeated petitions thank you dear reader… by the way the Board is going to allow the daily prophet to follow along the selection process. Keep your fingers crossed. _

_In other news Lucius Malfoy was spotted with a Mysterious gentleman at Flourish and Blots Bookshop today. Your reporter has obtained the picture of the Gentleman in question. I must say he is one of the most handsome gentleman to ever grace the Hogwarts halls. The gentleman is Tom Riddle and he is a former Head boy at Hogwarts. _

_Riddle was last reported to be working freelance in curse breaking in the Egyptian tombs. He seems to be interested in the Hogwarts staffing vacancy. _

_Keeping my ears to the ground on your behalf_

_Rita. _

Thank you to all my reviewers namely sweet163, gracelander2, the lady bookworm and Joe. Am not dead yet by the way…. Sorry for the wait.


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